Announcements of Chinese dog and cat meat festival underway prompted many angry reactions on social media, as users fear it will increase the chances of a wider coronavirus outbreak, if not trigger a new more brutal virus.
‘Yulin Dog Meat Festival: Sick celebration where dogs are blow-torched alive sparks fury’
— ConservativeAWF (@ConservativeAWF) June 21, 2020
The Yulin dog meat festival kicks off today despite outrage from animal rights activists and coronavirus wet-market concernshttps://t.co/kOrzVVJN4m pic.twitter.com/8KDNDu0SiW
The festival that faces annual criticism from defenders of animal rights is under heavy attacks this year in particular, in the aftermath of the global pandemic that emerged from China's wet market, infecting around 10 million people worldwide and killing about half a million.
Ever since the COVID-19 outbreak was associated with Wuhan's wet market last December, commentators expressed their anger at the traditional Chinese meat-eating habits. Most notably, this festival where dogs and cats are feasted on in Yulin southwest to the country, during the annual 2020 Lychee and Dog Meat Festival, held between the 21st and 30th of June.
In the annual 10-day festival many buys dogs from cramped cages and eat dishes made from their meat..
— Rishita Kabi (अर्थशास्त्री) (@RishitaKabi1) June 23, 2020
Seems nothing can teach them a lesson or may be they don't wanna learn from their mistake.. #coronavirus killed Chinese too.. #China #Dogfestivalhttps://t.co/4M98NyxF71
In addition to calls to protect animals, social media anger pointed at the Chinese insistence to carry on with the festival plans despite the global viral outbreak; saying that the country hasn't learned anything from the current pandemic.
Some theories trying to understand the development of COVID-19 suggested that the virus may have generated in bats, the animals that are also sold in Chinese wet markets for eating purposes.
Maybe they must change it name to covid festival??
— YSSis074 (@YSis074) June 23, 2020
My heart broke when I heard that the #yulin dog meat festival is still going ahead despite the #coronavirus. Thousands of dogs,& cats will be crammed into cages & bought in by trucks, many injured, and with no food or water for days to be slaughtered in this so called festival ? pic.twitter.com/OSyKHnOxtl
— Viv (@vivdarkangel) June 16, 2020